Happy Anniversary: Vulcan Mind Meld with a Rock

On this day, in 1967, the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Devil in the Dark" aired the third appearance of the now famous "Vulcan Mind Meld" as Mr. Spock uses his empathic technique to access the mind of the alien rock monster Horta. William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, described this as "exciting, thought-provoking and intelligent, it contained all of the ingredients that made up our very best Star Treks." The mind meld was originally created for the episode "Dagger of the Mind" as an alternative to hypnosis because, in part, they were afraid they'd accidentally hypnotize viewers at home.